Confirmed Trade: [EDM/VAN] Vasily Podkolzin for OTT '25 4th

[Boss Man Hughes]

I'm a bit torn... On one hand he put up less than mediocre numbers, on another hand his numbers are better than Holloway's and the Oilers got him for cheaper. HMMMM

Wasn't Holloway benched every time he made a mistake? He should be happy to get out of Edmonton.

 

[Ciao]

Not a "weird move" at all. Canucks free up cap space and get a 4th they can use in a trade to upgrade the D while only giving up a waiver fodder. A player that might be lost on waivers this year. He is a 4th liner not a potential 1st liner.

The Canucks free up a contract spot, but not any cap space on a contract this size. He could be buried or lost on waivers, and any replacement player would cost nearly as much.

This trade is one-half step up from a waivers claim. I doubt the Canucks would let him go if he fit into their plans.

 

[LTIR]

Wasn't Holloway benched every time he made a mistake? He should be happy to get out of Edmonton.

Holloway was a rookie and still learning the ropes. What you said is fake news.
He would be happy to get the money but I don't know about the narrative of Edmonton being an issue for him

 

[Skolman]

Tells you where the market was.

So there's no bad trade then, because that's "where rhe market was"?

 

[Pavel10]

If they match that Broberg contract and then he sucks as he has before it would be peak entertainment

When has he sucked? His only prolonged period of consistent play was the playoffs where he got normal shifts and ice time.

 

[Akrapovince]

I hope his time in Edmonton will mold him into a high energy defensive first bottom six forward that can chip in here and there. If he’s able to reinvent his game he might be able to carve out a nice career as being one of those guys.

If he cracks the Oilers line-up and becomes anything closer to a regular his sole job is to not get caved in while McDavid or Draisatl is not on the ice.

 

[GKJ]

So there's no bad trade then, because that's "where rhe market was"?

Yes.

 

[UrbanImpact]

All the best to Podz. Was really high on him when we drafted him in Van.

He is all power with a great heart. He lacks explosiveness and agility to his game and also process's the plays a tad slow. I still think he can carve out a 4th line role in the NHL for a long period of time. Likely though, he bolts back to Russia in a couple of years and makes a lot more money there
, being at home and being in a prominent role.


Canucks did a horrible job investing a 10thoverall pick on him but did fantastic in getting a 4th round pick for him now rather than letting him get claimed for free in September which is exactly what would have happened.

LOL Canucks went from a Russia factory to No Russians here.

Kuzmenko
Podkolzin
Mikhayev
Zadorov

 

[ManofSteel55]

So angry lmao!

No. They didn't take the best player available. They took the worst.

It doesn't take much to impress you. Hitting 50% on top 10 picks in 4 drafts is embarrassing. And the ones they missed weren't even bad players. They aren't even players at all.

Well, on average, 3 top 10 picks per year don't turn into what they should, so they are a bit behind on the average, but I don't believe they went off the board with any of those misses.

 

[Warh1ppy]

Not a "weird move" at all. Canucks free up cap space and get a 4th they can use in a trade to upgrade the D while only giving up a waiver fodder. A player that might be lost on waivers this year. He is a 4th liner not a potential 1st liner.

He is/was a 23 year old that was never really given much of a chance. While his numbers aren't sparkling this is still a net loss for the Canucks in regards to the return and the loss of a cheap asset.

If he goes on to Edmonton and produces at say a 20-30 point pace for a few seasons for under $1.5 million he'll be worth more than a 4th round pick. That's a very small metric to have to cross for success.

Guessing Vancouver saw more value in Aman and DiGiuseppe

 

[Pure West]

I have no issue with Pods. He came here and put in an honest effort trying to make the NHL. He put in some work in the AHL, he put in work after practice with the coaching staff in the NHL, and generally didn't create a big fuss when he clearly wasn't really highly regarded by this coaching staff. He likely quietly requested a trade after or even during the season.

He seems like a guy who got by on his speed and physical tools at lower levels but wasn't really a player who knew what to do or knew how to be a bottom of the lineup player. This is certainly not an uncommon tale. The right coach may make a difference, but I think we were likely to either scratch him or put him on waivers to start the season.

The return? He's 23, drafted 5 years ago. He's not that young anymore so I doubt him being a 10th overall pick holds a lot of weight. He's waiver eligible too. We weren't getting a high pick for him.

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

Shipped out all russians

 

[Connor McConnor]

Low risk high reward move. I think Holloway has proven more, mostly based on this recent playoffs, to predict a solid long term bottom six guy, but Podz is 1/3 the price for the next 2 years. Edmonton can technically match both offer sheets but would need to dump cap to get Kane off LTIR and be pretty stuck at the deadline. Really banking on Broberg being able to show that his playoff run wasn't a fluke. He's developed extremely well in the AHL and finally seemed ready so it's a decent gamble.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Wasn't Holloway benched every time he made a mistake? He should be happy to get out of Edmonton.

by the coach that is no longer there

 

[Bear of Bad News]

See and repeat my comments on the Cody Glass trade, but I'm optimistic for what this means for Podkolzin's career.

 

[Shareefruck]

He was looking ready to break out into a top six role after the finish to his first season, but not sure what happened the last two-- seemed a bit psychological (even then, he looks like he's ready to be an excellent 4th liner, IMO).

 

[ChaoticOrange]

He was looking ready to break out into a top six role after the finish to his first season, but not sure what happened the last two-- seemed a bit psychological (even then, he looks like he's ready to be an excellent 4th liner, IMO).

From what I've seen from other Canucks fans post, it seems like he kind of got in his own head and focused too much on playing responsible hockey and forgot that a "two way" game means you need to provide some offense too.

He'll certainly get a long look in preseason here.

 

[Pizza!Pizza!]

I don’t get this.

Oilers were feeling nostalgic for the Yakupov era so they signed another top 10 bust

 

[biturbo19]

I guess you can say it's easier to make the deal now then risk losing him for nothing on waivers. But, honestly, we're talking about a 4th round pick, and competition in training camp, or having a 23 year old finally get that full time roster spot is more valuable than the 4th. But I guess if you don't see it happening, take what you can get.

I mean, i guess that 4th round pick can potentially help them sweeten a deal or go towards getting double retention on a guy or something at the deadline...But yeah, a 4th round pick in and of itself, does practically nothing for the Canucks right now. Whereas at worst, Podkolzin would be more competition in camp to push guys harder, brings size, and still does have that potential to have it "click" for him again and get his development back on track to where he's already previously been.

We're not talking about a guy who has absolutely never shown anything at the NHL level at all. He's just been lost in the thicket, stalled out or regressing in his development in a concerning way the last couple years. They really must not see any realistic chance of him "turning it around" to deal him at this price rather than just wait it out and see.

 

[jackjohnson]

He is/was a 23 year old that was never really given much of a chance. While his numbers aren't sparkling this is still a net loss for the Canucks in regards to the return and the loss of a cheap asset.

If he goes on to Edmonton and produces at say a 20-30 point pace for a few seasons for under $1.5 million he'll be worth more than a 4th round pick. That's a very small metric to have to cross for success.

Guessing Vancouver saw more value in Aman and DiGiuseppe

Sorry but he wont give you 30 points in a season if he even plays on your starting lineup. He couldnt crack the Canucks lineup so how will he crack Oilers roster with "supposed" deeper forward group than Canucks? He will just take up extra cap space and roster spot while being in press box with no ability to be sent down for more developement. Also he was given plenty of chances to make an impression but he just didnt have the offense we want out of him and he isnt a PKer either like players Canucks have in Heinen, DeBrusk, Sherwood, Aman etc. So he would just be in Canucks press box the whole year and maybe play 10 games?? The only thing that changed for him will be sitting in Oilers press box but u fortunately he will live in much colder place.

 

[Djp]

I don’t get this.

Match broberg and sign him I think there amount over capequals Kane on ltir

 

[jackjohnson]

For canucks fans and others who are making a huge fuss about this trade, i want to know where he would play as a player that is not waiver exempt anymore??

Canucks Forward group:

Sprong-Miller-Boeser
Hoglander-Pettersson-Debrusk
Joshua-Blueger-Garland
Heinen-Suter-Sherwood
Aman
DiGieuseppe
....
Podkolzin??
Canucks cant carry 3 extra forwards so 1 had to be traded. Aman is better defensively and a center and Phil can play PK and also up and down the lineup and score more than Podkolzin. Podkolzin cant be sent down, what choice do Canucks have?

 

[jackjohnson]

I mean, i guess that 4th round pick can potentially help them sweeten a deal or go towards getting double retention on a guy or something at the deadline...But yeah, a 4th round pick in and of itself, does practically nothing for the Canucks right now. Whereas at worst, Podkolzin would be more competition in camp to push guys harder, brings size, and still does have that potential to have it "click" for him again and get his development back on track to where he's already previously been.

We're not talking about a guy who has absolutely never shown anything at the NHL level at all. He's just been lost in the thicket, stalled out or regressing in his development in a concerning way the last couple years. They really must not see any realistic chance of him "turning it around" to deal him at this price rather than just wait it out and see.

I really doubt he can "turn it around". This is the same guy who was not impressive in KHL after his draft and was being sent up and down, same story since he got here to North America. Lacks the skills of being a top 6 forward while not good enough to play on the PK or be some kind of a defensive stalwart. So he is just an average dime a dozen player. Canucks upgraded on him by getting the much more physical Sherwood who can play PK and be an energy guy. Sometimes you have to cut your losses and move forward which is why i like this managment compared to Benning who would re-sign busts like Virtanen instead of impact players because he doesnt know when the player has become a bust already.

 

[Warh1ppy]

Sorry but he wont give you 30 points in a season if he even plays on your starting lineup. He couldnt crack the Canucks lineup so how will he crack Oilers roster with "supposed" deeper forward group than Canucks? He will just take up extra cap space and roster spot while being in press box with no ability to be sent down for more developement. Also he was given plenty of chances to make an impression but he just didnt have the offense we want out of him and he isnt a PKer either like players Canucks have in Heinen, DeBrusk, Sherwood, Aman etc. So he would just be in Canucks press box the whole year and maybe play 10 games?? The only thing that changed for him will be sitting in Oilers press box but u fortunately he will live in much colder place.

Different coaches, different supporting players and a different system can do things for players.

Like I said, all he has to do is pot 20-30 points next season for under $1.5 million and it's going to be a better return for the Oilers than a random 4th for the Canucks.

Is it a guarantee? No, but nothing in life is.

 

[TheNumber4]

I mean, it has. Broberg ain’t worth close to what we used to pick him.

At 4.5M the Blues valued him for a 2nd round pick. If he was extended at 2M, he probably would have been worth a 1st in a trade. So really his value hasn’t dropped that far, it did for awhile, but this last season dominating the AHL and showing well in the playoffs has obviously revived that value.